Terrestrial History: A Novel

by Joe Mungo Reed

Named one of the Most Anticipated Books of 2025 by both Esquire and Literary Hub, Joe Mungo Reed's Terrestrial History is a time-bending family saga following four generations on an epic journey from coastal Scotland to a colony on Mars.

A Time-Bending Family Saga

The story begins when fusion scientist Hannah, working alone in a remote cottage, meets a visitor from the future. The young man, from a human settlement on Mars, is traveling backwards through time to make a crucial intervention to save our dying planet. As Hannah and the stranger labor towards a breakthrough, something goes terribly wrong. This extraordinary event expands to draw together the stories of four lives reckoning with fate, moving from the last days of civilization on Earth through the birth of another on Mars. Reed's intricately crafted novel considers which concerns should guide us in a time of crisis—social, technological, or familial—and whether there is meaning to be found in the pursuit of salvation beyond success itself.

Characters in the Saga:

• Hannah, a fusion scientist working to save Earth.
• Roban, a time-traveler from Mars, consumed by longing for a home planet he never knew.
• Andrew, a politician who still believes there is time for humanity to triumph if people can band together.
• Kenzie, his daughter, a stark rationalist who signs on to a company to abandon Earth for a world beyond.